Inside Japan's Under-Wraps Super Nintendo World

From the lava-filled depths of Bowser’s Castle to the shores of Koopa Troopa Beach, Nintendo’s Super Mario franchise has delighted generations since 1985. Now, Super Nintendo World—a new offering from the beloved video game company—is nearing completion. The special theme park land is scheduled to open this summer at Universal Studios Japan.

Despite being in the works for several years, Nintendo and Universal Parks & Resorts kept the Super Nintendo World concept under wraps until late 2016, leading to much speculation about what a Nintendo-inspired park would actually entail. Now, more information about its attractions and other features is beginning to surface.

What we know so far

Super Nintendo World won’t be a separate park, but rather “an expansive, highly themed, and immersive land featuring Nintendo’s legendary worlds, characters, and adventures” within Universal Studios Japan, according to an Universal Studios Japan press release. The larger theme park, located on a peninsula in Osaka Bay, is less than 20 minutes by train from downtown Osaka. Construction photos posted to social media by park attendees show Super Nintendo World being built adjacent to Universal’s Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Based upon early promotional material for the themed area, it’s apparent Super Nintendo World is designed to appeal to a wide range of Nintendo players—from old-school gamers who grew up playing classic titles on the Nintendo Entertainment System to millennial and Gen Z fans who fell in love with games like Mario Kart. Concept art shown at industry events revealed the land will be a multi-leveled area filled with familiar characters and locales from the Super Mario universe, such as goombas, piranha plants, Peach’s Castle, and more. (It’s unclear whether other popular Nintendo titles, like Donkey Kong or Pokémon will feature prominently in Super Nintendo Land.)

Rides and attractions

Most of Super Nintendo World’s attractions have remained a secret. But one element of the land enthusiastically promoted by park executives is the Power Up Band—a wearable device that, when paired with the park’s app, will allow guests to interact with various features throughout Super Nintendo World.

The device, which Universal plans to sell in a variety of designs inspired by the Super Mario franchise’s most beloved characters, will turn a visit to Super Nintendo World into a real-life video game, keeping track of guests’ activity throughout the park. Wearing the Power Up Band will enable attendees to collect digital coins, earn points, and compete against other visitors in a series of mini-challenges that Universal executive Thierry Coup called the “perfect fusion of the physical world with the world of video games.” At a recent promotional event for the park, executives demonstrated how guests can earn coins with the Power Up Band by jumping up to “smash” oversized versions of the Super Mario games’ iconic Question Mark Blocks—and, in doing so, triggering the famous coin sound effect Nintendo fans know and love.

There’s one other Super Nintendo World feature that has would-be visitors especially excited: the Mario Kart ride.

Information about the ride, which industry insiders believe will be named “Mario Kart Experience,” is almost nonexistent, presumably to keep any spoilers regarding specific elements or technology under wraps. However, considering Nintendo and Universal’s commitment to translating popular in-game attractions from the Super Mario franchise into real-world features, the possibility of being able to launch red shells and banana peels at opponents while racing along the Rainbow Road doesn’t seem too far-fetched. Leaked concept art for Super Nintendo Land suggests the ride will be located inside a replica of Bowser’s Castle and could feature augmented reality goggles to enhance the ride experience.

Other leaked concept art and patent filings suggest other rides—namely, a kid-friendly ride called Yoshi’s Adventure—may also appear within Super Nintendo World, with dining facilities and gift shops rounding out the attraction.

How much will it cost to get in?

Admission to Super Nintendo World is included in the cost of Universal Studio Japan tickets, called Studio Passes, which are sold as either one-day or two-day tickets and start at ￥7800 (about $75) for adults and ￥5400 ($45) for children ages four through 11. However, guests hoping to take advantage of Super Nintendo World’s unique interactive features should include the cost of a Power Up Band (sold at the park) in their vacation budget.

Universal has not revealed how much the devices will cost. While it does seem possible for guests to explore this real-life Mushroom Kingdom without purchasing of a Power Up Band, the symbiotic relationship between physical and virtual activities spread throughout the park suggests the device is a key component to fully enjoying everything Super Nintendo World has to offer.

Universal Studios Japan also sells a ticket add-on called an Express Pass, which allows park guests to skip lines and receive timed admission windows to specific areas or rides. The current Express Pass system can be overwhelming to first-time Universal visitors—and prices vary based on estimated crowd sizes. Much like the cost of the Power Up Band, the prices for Express Passes that include Super Nintendo World have not been released.

Can’t make it to Japan? Don’t worry. Universal plans to open additional iterations of Super Nintendo World in its Los Angeles, Orlando, and Singapore theme parks in the coming years, giving fans plenty of time to brush up on their coin-collecting skills and princess-rescuing techniques.